1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improvement to an installation for preventing the ingress of super-cooled water, ice, snow and other debris to the air intake of an aircraft engine. More specifically, this invention is an improvement of the installation taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,377, Peterson et al, issued July 4, 1967, and assigned to the assignee of the instant application. The disclosure of the above-mentioned United States Patent is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
In the above-mentioned patent, an inertial separator effect is used to prevent ingress of super cooled water, ice, snow and other debris to an aircraft engine. In accordance with the patent the effect is obtained by an installation including a duct formed in a sub-nacelle of the engine to extend generally longitudinally of the engine, an air deflecting surface in the duct to confine the incoming air to a passage of reduced cross section, and an opening in the duct wall downstream of the deflecting surface, the opening being formed between the trailing edge of the deflecting surface and the leading edge of a rearward portion of the duct.
Although the above-described installation provides reasonable performance, it does so with the penalty of a pressure loss due to the effect of the deflecting surface. Although some pressure loss must be experienced within an installation of this nature, it is one of the objects of the present invention to minimize the pressure loss by modifications and additions to the installation structure.
In addition, because of the shape and structure of the rearward portion, ice can form on the leading edge thereof to restrict the opening in the duct wall and lead to system deterioration with time. The ice forming on the rearward portion will also extend downwardly from the rearward portion to restrict the discharge outlet. It is a further object of the invention to modify the structure of the rearward portion to substantially reduce these effects.